Scattered in the North Atlantic 300 miles off Iceland and 400 miles off Norway lies archipelago-the Faroe Islands. Despite centuries of foreign control, the Faroese have preserved their own distinctive identity . At present an internally self-governing dependency of Denmark , the Faroes have kept their culture alive in part by elaborating certain elements of that culture as badges of self-consciousness. The Ring of Dancers is composed a series of studies of aspects of Faroese life, language, and folk ways. A recurrent theme is the continuing reformulation of Faroese culture since the islands' Viking settlement in the ninth century. The Faroes are introduced as the Faroese themselves conceive them-as islands both joined and separated by the waterways round about them. The archipelago visualized in terms of such waterways as fjords, the points of the compass, "home" villages, and natural and political districts . The authors also discuss Faroese society as the Faroese conceived it a round 1890, by an analysis of a then popular folktale about the Ashlad. Placed in its social context, the tale appears as a kind of folk editorial on changing values and changing times. Perhaps the most important symbol of Faroese identity is the Faroese language. Although it was not made a written language until the 1840s, and was not widely written or read until the 1890s, Faroese has replaced Danish as the islands' official language. In gaining its formal register, it has come to express a modern sense of what it means to be Faroese. The most spectacular Faroese custom, the grindadrap-the slaughter of schools of pilot whales and the celebration that follows the catch-typifies the continuity of the Faroes' anciently rooted identity. The image of the dansiringur, the "ring" of dancers singing ballads of wars and loves of heroic times-lingers throughout the book. The dansiringur, the authors contend, represents the Faroese adaptation of large forms to a land of closely known neighbors and landscapes, the complex inward turnings of Faroese culture, its tortuous sense of wholeness. The book ends by recounting interviews in Torshavn, the Faroese capital, with an artist, a journalist, a politician, and others. The Ring of Dancers vividly portrays the Faroese and makes clear why they are actively involved in preserving their culture as well as shaping it for the future.
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"An important addition to the ethnographic literature on the Faroe Islands."--Choice
Jonathan Wylie is with the Anthropology/Archaeology Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. David Margolin is Professor of Linguistics at the University of New Mexico.
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Seller: N. Fagin Books, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
1981. Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. 182p., very good cloth and fair dust jacket, with sun fading to spine and wear along dj's edges, plus a few tears, too. Seller Inventory # 19801
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition; 1st Printing. Hardcover with dustjacket, no significant flaws to this clean, attractive copy and a professional (removable) mylar cover is included, "composed of a series of studies of aspects of Faroese life, language and folkways," illustrated throughout and includes a bibliography ; ; 182 pages. Seller Inventory # 053262
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. Torn/worn dj. Good hardcover with some shelfwear; may have previous owner's name inside. Standard-sized. Seller Inventory # mon0000098776
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Seller: Second Story Books, ABAA, Rockville, MD, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Octavo; G/G-; Hardcover with DJ; DJ spine, green with brown print; DJ has light edgewear, toning to spine, peripheral toning, light creasing; Boards in brown cloth, slight wear to spine caps and warping, else clean and strong; Text block has spotting to edges, else clean and tight; xxii, 182 pages, illustrated (b&w). 1353938. FP New Rockville Stock. Seller Inventory # 1353938
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xxii, 182p., b/w illus., dj (Symbol and culture). Seller Inventory # 039644
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Seller: Lawrence Jones Books, Ashmore, QLD, Australia
Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First Edition. Foreword by Einar Haugen. 182 pages, b/w photos, text-figures, notes, bibliography, index, textured end-papers. Or brown cloth boards, silver spine titles. The Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and their people from the time of the Vikings to the 1980s. Size: 8vo. Seller Inventory # 022722
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Seller: June Samaras, STREETSVILLE, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good, Slightly Scuffed. First Edition. "Scattered in the North Atlantic 300 miles off Iceland and 400 miles off Norway lies an archipelago-- the Faroe Islands. At present, (of 1981) an internally self-governing dependency of Denmark, the Faroes have kept their culture alive in part by elaborating certain elements of that culture as badges of self-consciousness. 'The Ring of Dancers' is composed of af a series of studies of aspects of Faroese life, language, and folkways. The Faroes are introduced as the Faroese themselves conceive them-- as islands both joined and separated by the waterways round about them. The archipelago is visualized in terms of such waterways as fjords, the points of the compass, 'home' villages, and natural and political districts. The authors also discuss Faroese society as the Faroese conceived it around 1890, by an analysis of a then popular folktale about the Ashlad. Placed in its social context, the tale appears as a kind of folk editorial on changing values and changing times. Perhaps the most important symbol of Faroese identity is the Faroese language. Although it was not made a written language until the 1840s, and was not widely written or read until the 1890s, Faroese has replaced Danish as the islands' official language. In gaining its formal register, it has come to express a modern sense of what it means to be Faroese. The most spectacular Faroese custom, the grindadrap-- the slaughter of schools of pilot whales and the celebration that follows the catch-- typifies the continuity of the Faroes' anciently rooted identity. The image of the dansiringur-- the authors contend, represents the Faroese adaptation of large forms to a land of closely known neighbors and landscapes, the complex inward turnings of Faroese culture, its tortuous sense of wholeness. The book ends by recounting interwiews in Torshavn, the Faroes' capital, with an artist, a journalist, a politician, and others." 182p. bibliography. index Slight damp stain on page edges. Book. Seller Inventory # 37950
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Seller: Three Geese in Flight Celtic Books, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Very Good. First American Edition. Fine Hardcover and Near Very Good Dust Jacket of Pennsylvania, 1981. First American Edition. 8vo . Excellent study into the culture, language, whale hunts of this Norse island of ancient Pictish ancestry. Illustrated by b/w Illus. of folk life around a hearth. Stories, dance seafaring. Dust jacket one cover chip about an inch at bottom of cover and sun fading. NOT a library copy. Seller Inventory # 006478
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